


What Makes Phan Unique?

by OvereducatedAndOverworked



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Analysis, Character Analysis, Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9598982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OvereducatedAndOverworked/pseuds/OvereducatedAndOverworked
Summary: Phil Lester and Dan Howell have an indefinable chemistry, as any fan of Phan can attest.  However, even among YouTube ships, it stands apart as completely and indescribably unique.Well... maybe not quite indescribable.  I hope to break down exactly how Phan is unique, and why we keep falling head-over-heels for Dan and Phil.(This isn't quite a fic, more an analysis of why we love our ridiculous British giants, and why the Phandom keeps writing more and more smut.)





	1. Introduction

Phan.

On the surface, it's pretty simple. Just a shipping of two best friends. Two men with intense chemistry. A fan who met his idol, and never let go.

Here's the thing though: these statements apply to plenty of ships. Ian and Anthony from Smosh are best friends who met young and have stayed together. Markiplier and JackSepticEye have fantastic chemistry, and are shipped by thousands, to their delight and occasional disgust. Felix and Marzia met through her being a fan of his videos, and now have a long and dedicated relationship. And yet, Dan and Phil remain unique among even these relationships. There's something special, something completely unique, about their relationship. As of 2015, 84% of their fan base shipped them together, with 45.4% of their fans believing that they are secretly in a romantic or sexual relationship with one another. These are mind-blowing statistics, and it begs the question: just what is it that makes so many of us ship them? Behind the jokes, the skits, the games, there's a raw chemistry that leaves most of us in awe. I hope to explain just how it so very unique, even among YouTube ships.

Please note that for this series, I am making the assumption that there are no ‘hidden relationships’. I am basing all of this off of what the people in question have publicly stated, either in videos or in other released statements, such as on social media. I will do my best to locate and reference all used sources, so that the reader can see where I am getting my information, and come to his or her own conclusions.

Due to the nature of this, I highly encourage anyone who reads this to include their own thoughts! If you have thoughts, parallels, or just disagree with any of my statements, please let me know. The more perspectives I can acquire, the more accurate I can make this series. Thank you, and please, don't hesitate!


	2. Phan vs. Ianthony

When thinking of parallels to Phan, one of the first ships that jumps to mind is Ianthony, or the pairing of Ian Hecox with Anthony Padillia, the two founders of Smosh.  All four are young male youtubers who have been producing videos for years.  All four are attractive and produce a variety of content, ranging from vlogs to skits to gaming.  The two sets of friends go back years, and their origin stories are well-known: Dan and Phil met ‘through a mutual friend’, that mutual friend being the internet, and Ian and Anthony met in high school.  They both have teased that they are attracted to their best friend, but ultimately both sets of friends have denied that they are, ever have been or will be, romantically or sexually involved with one another.

However, there is very clearly a difference between the two: whereas Ian and Anthony have always made it clear that they are two heterosexual best friends who choose to take their ship as a joke, though one that can occasionally get out of hand, Dan and Phil have suggested that they are of non-heterosexual orientations.  Many people upon seeing them interact for the first time believe that they are romantically involved, and this is not for nothing.  While Phil stated that he was bisexual in the distant past, and there are rumors that he dated a male fan of his before he became friends with Dan, he has not confirmed this at any point in the last five years.  However, Dan has implied in the more recent past that he is attracted to men.  While the most prominent example of this is probably during his roast video, which nearly killed many a fangirl, other incidents include several deleted tweets and messages from Dan where he stated that he is bisexual.  Other instances include the infamous “V-day video”, some of the recent tweets by Dan, and generally just their method of interaction.  Even non-shippers can admit that they are closer than most male friends.

Another interesting fact is that while Ian and Anthony constantly tease their fans by pretending to be in love, and in the case of one video, kissing each other on the lips, it’s all planned out in advance.  They’re not doing it as an extension of their own relationship; while they are comfortable enough with one another to pretend to be romantically involved, it’s all scripted.  Whether it’s giving one another lustful looks or proposing marriage, every bit of it is planned and specifically designed to have the largest impact on their fans.

Dan and Phil, on the other hand, do not script out their interactions (at least not that we know of!).  Their interactions are more organic, and while they might have a generalized outline for their collaborative videos, their reactions _are_ based on their friendship.  Thus, any interaction that seems romantically-inclined, or as non-platonic, is an extension of their emotions towards one another.  There are numerous examples of this, and each shipper, I am sure, has his or her favorites moments.  It’s quite interesting to see that despite their blatant denials, their chemistry is not really that of a set of platonic friends.  When Ian and Anthony interact outside of videos, they tend to retain a fair amount of distance from one another, and their interactions lack the romantic tension that Dan and Phil tend to create.  While they do tease one another, and send out tweets intended to rile up their fans, their actual relationship is confirmed to be strictly platonic.

This, of course, doesn’t mention the fact that both Ian and Anthony have had multiple girlfriends over the course of their friendship, whereas Dan and Phil have remained single, or at least have not revealed to have been in relationships, over the entire seven-year span of their friendship.  But that’s a topic for another chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References:
> 
> [Dan and Phil state they are attracted to men/bisexual](https://d.wattpad.com/story_parts/153705938/images/13f67f39e8aae5e4.jpg)   
>  [Just extras](http://media.tumblr.com/cc174d3c58f6d592b85d99ec13c96c69/tumblr_inline_mg5nixLI6z1rz95qv.jpg)
> 
> [Ianthony denial tweet](https://twitter.com/smoshian/status/692603770811785217?lang=en)
> 
> [Ianthony kissing video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4nW4GGwPR0)
> 
> [Ian hinting at Ianthony tweet](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ca/3d/c3/ca3dc35f739de8549bfecdbd78ebd7ac.jpg)

**Author's Note:**

> All data, both here and used in the future, is taken from the [Dan and Phil Survey.](http://danandphilsurvey.tumblr.com/results) Go check it out! It's about two years old, but still extraordinarily interesting, and an excellent insight into the Phandom at large.


End file.
